In veterinary medicine, it is often necessary to prevent self-trauma in animal patients. Instinctively, animals lick and chew at wounds to clean them. While this behavior has an evolutionary advantage, with the advent of modern wound management techniques, licking behavior slows wound healing and makes wound management more difficult.
Animals also tend to dislike foreign materials attached to their body. These materials often include those meant to effect healing or assist in wound management, either surgical or traumatic. Surgical wounds are closed with sutures or staples. These materials inherently cause some irritation to the patient and instinctively patients attempt to remove them via scratching or chewing. Adhesive bandages provide little benefit as they can be easily removed by the patient and do not adhere well to fur.
The consequences of self induced trauma can be severe. Wound healing is typically delayed due to wound contamination, such as those caused by, etc. oral bacteria. The resulting wound infection may progress to deeper structures resulting in significant patient morbidity and medical expenses.
Classically Elizabethan collars have been used to prevent self induced trauma. These devices are problematic as they significantly restrict basic animal functions including vision, prehension of food, eating, and hearing. The devices are additionally irritating to the animal resulting is stress, discomfort, and behavioral abnormalities